Meet the ACPS Partner: Momentum Collective Inc.

Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) is fortunate to count dozens of dedicated businesses, community organizations and institutions of higher education as partners working with us each day to inspire students and address barriers to learning. Our “Meet the ACPS Partners” series is how we proudly thank these organizations and share their powerful, positive work with the community. 

This week, we caught up with Jason Ellis, executive director, Momentum Collective Inc. 

Meet our Partner!

Momentum Collective-2025 Performance

What is your mission statement? 

Momentum Collective’s mission is to use the arts as a conduit to educate, enrich and empower the lives of youth. We provide free after-school arts education programming to approximately 200 Alexandria youth at 10 sites across the City including Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) Link Clubs. We primarily serve elementary and middle school youth, focusing on theater, dance, creative writing and music. We also run a free children's theater program, producing two musicals annually, with a cast size of between 30-50 ACPS youth from across the city. In support of our work, we host monthly family meetings and take our youth participants on various field trips to increase their exposure to the arts.

Schools served:

Momentum Collective serves ACPS, division-wide.

How long has your organization been (officially/unofficially) partnering with ACPS?

Momentum Collective has partnered with ACPS since the organization got underway nine years ago. 

If you could describe the impact of your work with ACPS in three words or less, what would they be and why?

Community, Resilience and Empower - ee are very proud of our efforts to bring the Alexandria community together through the arts regardless of race, gender, socioeconomics or any other identifier that sometimes seeks to divide us. The performing arts by design teaches resilience as our youth strengthen their social-emotional skills by participating in our programs. Throughout our work, we emphasize creating agency and autonomy for our youth, stressing the importance of ownership of their own success and providing them with platforms to shine.

What is a recent bit of good news about your organization or a feel-good story that you can share about your work?

We are the largest youth serving arts nonprofit in Alexandria, by volume, and have an extremely high retention rate. In addition to serving over 200 youth annually, in the three years of operating our children's theater program, we have separately served over 100 ACPS youth.

What is one thing most people might not know about your organization's work?

Over 90% of all funds raised go back directly into programming and to ensure that all youth can participate at no-cost.

How can community members get involved and support your organization's collaborative efforts with ACPS?

To keep costs extremely low, the organization is primarily volunteer run, including the role of the executive director. Individuals are welcome to visit our website to learn more about our volunteer opportunities and to contact us directly via email, if there is anything that particularly piques your interest. We are especially looking for teaching artists, production team members and anyone interested in logistics and coordination.